The Monsters of Mongo
April 22 To stop Flash Gordon from warning the Lion Men about the soldiers' attack, Princess Aura smacks him on the back of the head and knocks him out. Flash revives as a squad of Lion Men capture Aura. To escape, Aura throws herself off of a cliff, but she's grabbed by a Constrictor plant on the way down. The plant begins to squeeze the life out of her. Flash jumps after her, and is caught himself. April 29 A sentry, from the same race as Ming's people, shoots the Lion Men with an Ice gun -- and they turn into statues of solid ice. A group of yellow men emerge from a nearby cave, and they kill the constrictor plant, rescuing Flash and Aura. Their leader, Prince Barin, doesn't trust that the strange white man comes from the Earth. To keep their hiding place a secret, Barin decrees that Flash should be blindfolded, and fight their other white captive to the death. Both Flash and the other man are given knives dipped in poisonous dragons blood. The two men fight, but Flash disarms the other man, and rips off his blindfold. He finds that the other man is Dr. Hans Zarkov. May 6 Flash is delighted to see that Dr. Zarkov didn't die in the crash. The scientist explains that these men -- rebels fighting against Ming's rule -- picked him up when he was injured. He's been living as their servant ever since. Prince Barin is impressed with Flash and Zarkov, and they become friends and co-conspirators. Leaving Aura under guard, the three board Barin's Electric mole -- a machine that can burrow underground. The machine is caught by a gocko, a huge monster with lobster claws. Flash emerges from the mole to shoo the creature away, but it catches him up in its claw and begins to crush him. May 13 Barin puts the electric mole into reverse, chopping the gocko to pieces and rescuing Flash. The electric mole approaches Ming's palace. Meanwhile, Aura seduces her guard, Ronkol, and they make their escape in an Air sled. The ship is shot down by Ming's air patrol, ad Ronkol is killed. Aura demands to be taken to her father. May 20 The electric mole bursts through the floor of Ming's central hall, but armed soldiers are waiting with ray-proof armor. The rebels flee, and are shot with ice-guns. Flash, Zarkov and Barin are chained to a pillar. Ming, Dale and the High Priest Zogi appear, and Ming orders the prisoners executed. May 27 Zogi reminds Ming that the laws of the Great God Tao offer a traitor the choice of a firing squad, or "the two terrible tests". Flash and Barin choose the latter, and are forced to fight on a narrow platform over "the torture tank". Flash knocks Barin off the platform, but then jumps in after him. Flash kills the monstrous Octosak waiting in the tank, but then the water is drained out, and a transparent metal cover slides over the tank. Three snarling Tigrons are let into the tank to face Flash. June 3 Flash kills the three tigrons barehanded. Meanwhile, Prince Thun escapes from his guards, and lifts the transparent cover from the torture tank, rescuing Flash and Barin. Thun tells Flash that Ming and Dale are about to be married. June 10 With Flash presumed dead, Dale doesn't care what happens anymore -- and allows herself to be taken to the wedding ceremony. High Priest Zogi begins the ceremony, but Flash, Barin and Thun sneak into the control room, making the idol of Tao appear to forbid the marriage. Ming wants them shot, but Zogi says that they can not execute a man who has passed the tests. Furious, Ming stabs Zogi, killing him. Ming says that if he can't have them executed, he'll send them all to the prison city of the Hawk Men. June 17 A prison ship carries Flash, Barin, Dale, Thun and Zarkov to the Hawkmen. They pass over the Magnetic Mountains, and are caught in a mysterious green fog. The ship crashes, and the prisoners escape. They tie up Captain Lin-chu, and emerge from the ship. As they leave, a Brown Dwarf emerges from the trees and throws an S-shaped boomerang. Flash is smacked in the head and drops to the ground, as a troop of Dwarfs approaches. June 24 Barin, Thun and Zarkov load Flash into the ship, but Dale is captured by the Dwarfs and marched away. On the great plains, they're attacked by armor plated wolvrons, led by their pack leader, Bulwa. The Dwarfs scatter, but their leader, Prince Roga, defends Dale. He goes down fighting. July 1 Flash recovers consciousness as Captain Lin-chu escapes from his bonds and reports to Ming on the Spacephone. Flash knocks Lin-chu out, and then grabs the gun to shoot the attacking Dwarfs. Zarkov stays with the injured Thun as Flash and Barin go after Dale. They reach her just in tie to save her from the wolvrons. They find that Prince Roga is still alive, so they pick him up and head back to their ship. But the Dwarfs still wait in ambush. July 8 Flash, Dale and Barin hold off the attacking Dwarfs by threatening to kill Roga. Meanwhile, Thun and Zarkov are caputred by a squadron of Hawkmen. Flash, Dale and Barin watch as the Hawkmen carry their friends off to the Sky City, a sparkling city suspended on light beams. July 15 Captain Lin-chu tells Flash, Dale and Barin that the Hawkmen has captured their friends, and will be back for them soon. Princess Aura finds them, and gives Flash one last chance: "Marry me and the empire is yours and your friends go free --- if not, my father's men or the Hawkmen, with my aid, will kill all of you." Flash stands firm: "My dear princess, if I must choose between the two, I choose Dale and death!" Angry, Aura orders Lin-chu to fly her to the Hawkmen. Prince Roga offers his help. July 22 Roga offers to take Flash, Dale and Barin to the Dwarfs' underground city. He sends three messengers to ask King Nurid to send an armed escort. Meanwhile, Aura and Lin-chu arrive at the Sky City, and tell King Vultan to capture Flash. Vultan obediently sends out a squadron. The Hawkmen troops kill Roga's messengers, and then spy on Flash and his friends. July 29 The Hawkmen attack, killing Roga and capturing the others. At the Sky City, Vultan gives Aura her choice among the prisoners. She chooses to torture Flash, although she offers him one last choice: "Do you choose me or fire?" Flash chooses fire. Aura tells the Hawkmen torturer to sear Flash with a red-hot poker. August 5 Aura loses her nerve, and stops the torture before Flash is hurt. She still vows that she will break his spirit, and orders him into the electric torture cells. Meanwhile, Dale decides to seduce Vultan, for Flash's sake. She claims that she's not interested in Flash -- and to test her, Vultan brings her to Flash's cell. Flash is in a cage, specially constructed so that he can neither stand or sit. Dale laughs, pretending not to care. Vultan is convinced, and brings Dale to the Skyrooms, to join his harem. Lura, Vultan's favorite wife, is jealous -- and when Vultan leaves the room, she decides to throw Dale out the tower window. August 12 Flash escapes from his cell by pretending that he's taken poison. Aura orders the guards to open his cell, and he leaps out and attacks the guards. He can't get up to the Skyrooms without Vultan's ring, so he scales the outside of the tower. Vultan's wives shove Dale out of the window, and Flash grabs her as she falls. The two of them tumble down the tower. August 19 Hawkmen guards catch Flash and Dale as they fall, and bring them back to Vultan. Vultan orders Flash to work in the Atom Furnace. August 26 Flash, Barin, Thun and Zarkov are put to work in the furnaces. Guards whip Zarkov, and Flash tries to fight back. Meanwhile, Dale offers to marry Vultan if he'll spare Flash's life. September 2 Vultan agrees to spare Flash, if Dale will marry him. He asks if his wives pushed her out of the window, but she claims that she was leaning out and fell. When Vultan leaves, Lura thanks Dale for not exposing her to Vultan's wrath. She promises to help Dale. In the furnaces, Hawkmen guards fit Flash with an ankle bracelet. If he disobeys, Flash will be electrocuted. While they work, Barin whispers to Flash that he has a plan. September 9 Zarkov attaches the wire from Flash's ankle bracelet to a metal shovel. Flash throws his shovel into the furnace. The guards pull a switch, sending electricity through the wires -- which causes the radium ore in the furnaces to explode. The slaves escape. September 16 Captain Lin-chu tells Vultan that Ming wants to marry Dale. If Vultan makes Lin-chu the general of his army, then he won't tell Ming about Vultan's wedding plans. Furious, Vultan strangles Lin-chu, and has him thrown into a burning furnace. Vultan threatens Aura with the same treatment. A guard approaches, and tells Vultan that Flash has blown up the radium supply. September 23 Flash and Thun go off to look for Dale. Zarkov decides to stay and experiment with the radium ore; Barin stays with him. A Hawkman guard tries to shoot Flash with an atom-gun; Flash shoots back with a light-pistol. Running from the guards, Flash and Thun dart through a doorway -- and fall into a chamber holding Sulpha, a sacred dragon which breathes deadly poison. September 30 Thun succumbs to Sulpha's poison breath. Flash shoots through the wall and climbs out, carrying Thun. They reach the hallway, where they're captured by Hawkmen guards. October 7 Thun is injured while fighting the Hawkmen guards. Meanwhile, a guard escorts Dale to the bridal chambers. October 14 Hiding from the guards, Flash and Thun meet Hanak, an aging Hawkman who built the tower. His daughter is Lura, who was "stolen" by Vultan -- and now Hanak wants revenge. Hanak brings Thun to a room to rest, and then leads Flash through a secret passage in the walls into the Skyrooms. Lura tells them that Dale has been taken away for the wedding. Another wife hears them, and alerts a guard. October 21 Flash and Hanak disappear into the wall before the guard can find them. Lura denies that they were there. Flash and Hanak use a bomb to distract some guards, and find their way to the bridal chambers just in time to stop Vultan from demanding his first kiss from Dale. Flash leaps into the room, and grapples with Vultan. October 28 Hanak leaps onto Vultan's back -- but Vultan throws him off, sending him out the window to his death. Flash knocks Vultan out, and comforts Dale. They tear down some tapestries to make a rope, and climb out the window. Guards enter the room, and cut the rope. November 4 The rope is cut, and Flash and Dale fall -- but Flash manages to grab onto an open window, and pulls them inside. They're caught and brought before Vultan, who orders a firing squad. Suddenly, the floor sways. The supporting light-beams on one side of the city are growing weaker, and the city begins to topple. November 11 The explosion in the Atom Furnaces has destroyed the radium supply, which is causing the Sky City to fall. Vultan accuses Flash of destroying his city, and vows to kill him. Zarkov and Barin rush into the room, and Zarkov declares that he's found a way to save the city. November 18 Zarkov tells Vultan that he's discovered another way to propel the city -- an atomic Light solidifier. Zarkov turns on his machine, and it works -- the Sky City is now even more stable than before. Grateful, Vultan sets all the prisoners free, and offers to make Zarkov his head scientist. Gallery 002